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EU Releases Details of Dairy Aid Package

30 August 2016

EU - The precise details of the €500 million aid package for the dairy and other livestock sectors announced by Commissioner Phil Hogan in July have been finalised this week in agreement with Member State experts.

The most significant elements in this package are the previously-announced €350 million support package (with allocations already previously set for Member States), a new EU-wide €150 million aid for milk production reduction, and extending public intervention as well as private storage aid for Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) until the end of February next year.

Speaking today, Commissioner Phil Hogan said: "I am particularly pleased with the aid scheme for reducing milk production as it provides a genuinely European response to a problem on the EU market.

"I am confident that this measure will contribute significantly to improving market sentiment and will be reflected in improved prices for European dairy producers."

However, details finalised at the meeting last week included deadlines, conditions relating to eligibility, maximum claim (50 per cent of production in the reference period), penalties for failing to reduce production for the full amount offered and the relevant administrative and control rules.

Each individual dairy farmer will have to decide whether or not to participate in the EU-wide scheme for reducing milk production, with the prospect of a payment for reducing production in the period from October-December, relative to the same period last year.